PAKISTAN (ACN News): Police in Pakistan are investigating allegations that extremists targeted hospital nurses by putting poison in the tea they were drinking one afternoon during Ramadan.
Reports state the 11 nurses taken ill at the Civil Hospital, Karachi, are out of danger but at least some of them were reportedly rushed to intensive care soon after drinking the tea.
The incident on Monday, July 30 quickly aroused suspicions and police were called in, with a First Information Report (FIR) being lodged.
The nurses included three Christians and, according to local reports, the Masihi Foundation, a Christian rights organisation, said that if true the alleged attack was “a vile act” against religious freedom and tolerance.
Underlining that key facts of the nurses poisoning case were in doubt, Archbishop Joseph Coutts of Karachi told Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need that he had asked that the incident be investigated by the Pakistan Catholic advocacy organisation the National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP).
Speaking from Karachi on August 1 Archbishop Coutts said it was still unclear what the motive was behind the poisoning.
“Was it a religious motive, was it a criminal motive or was it purely accidental?” he asked.
“Whatever the truth, it is definitely a cause for concern and we are hoping to get a clearer picture of what really did happen as soon as possible.”
According to Catholic news agency AsiaNews, most Muslim staff at Civil Hospital Karachi do not tolerate non-Muslim colleagues eating or drinking during Ramadan.
The agency said the hospital officials had opened their own inquiry into the case.
Archbishop Coutts said Karachi was under threat from many extremists with zero tolerance for allegedly ‘un-Islamic’ activity, including breaking the Ramadan fast where eating and drinking are banned from sunrise to sundown.
“Karachi does have some extremist elements but we also have a very diverse community including a large number of Hindus but also many others of different faiths,” he said.
